EFCC Recovery Funds Driving National Progress, Says UNILORIN Vice Chancellor

​ABUJA – The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Professor Wahab Egbewole, has described the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the engine room for Nigeria’s potential transformation, citing the agency’s shift toward crime prevention and asset recovery as a blueprint for national development.

​Speaking during a high-level courtesy visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Friday, Professor Egbewole lauded the commission’s recent milestone of recovering over N500 billion in proceeds of crime. He noted that the effective management of these funds is already yielding tangible benefits for the Nigerian populace.

​Strengthening the Academic-Security Nexus

​The Vice Chancellor, leading a delegation of the university’s management team, emphasized that the synergy between academia and anti-graft agencies is vital for sanitizing the nation’s electoral and social systems.

​”We believe that if we are able to solve the challenge of economic and financial crimes, the country will be a lot better than it currently is,” Egbewole stated. He specifically pointed to the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies at UNILORIN as a potential partner for the EFCC in tackling corruption within the electioneering process.

​Recovered Loot Funding Student Loans

​In a revealing response, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede reaffirmed that the commission has moved beyond “reactive” policing to a strategy of proactive prevention.

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​Olukoyede disclosed that the commission’s recoveries are no longer just statistics but are being redirected into critical social infrastructure. Notably, he revealed that recovered funds served as the primary seed capital for the take-off of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

​”It is better we don’t always wait for money to be stolen before we act,” Olukoyede remarked. “Our recoveries are being channeled to positive things. In fact, it was our recovered funds that allowed NELFUND to take off and support Nigerian students.”

​The “Yahoo Boy” Crisis

​Despite the successes, the EFCC boss raised a red flag over the “alarming” involvement of Nigerian youth in cybercrime. Olukoyede lamented that a significant portion of the commission’s current caseload involves students—popularly known as “Yahoo Boys.”

​”It is heartbreaking what is happening among our students today. More than 80% of our targets are young people,” he said, calling on the University of Ilorin and other tertiary institutions to assist in re-orienting the mindsets of students toward ethical digital practices.

​Regional Leadership

​Professor Egbewole also congratulated Olukoyede on his recent appointment as the head of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA). The VC noted that this regional leadership role confirms the growing international credibility of Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework under the current administration.

​The EFCC, established in 2003, remains Nigeria’s lead agency in the fight against money laundering and financial terrorism. Both parties concluded the meeting with a commitment to formalize a framework for ethical training and joint research to combat corruption from the grassroots up.